BERLIN, January 31. /TASS/. German political scientist and head of the Berlin office of the European Council on Foreign Relations, Jana Puglierin, believes that it will take Europe several years to become militarily independent from the United States.
"At least five years, and for areas such as intelligence, surveillance and satellites, perhaps even a decade or more," she told the Funke media group when asked a respective question. In particular, the discussion concerns "key strategic elements that European armies do not yet have," such as reconnaissance, target acquisition, and integrated air defense, the expert added.
Europe must be able to defend itself independently, she noted. "There's really no alternative unless we become so dependent on a patron power that we become a kind of protectorate," Puglierin said, adding that the previous NATO model, in which allies voluntarily followed the US as alliance partners, is "clearly no longer on the table."
The expert is skeptical about the EU's possible development of nuclear weapons, not seeing it as a replacement for the American nuclear umbrella. "Finding a pragmatic way to engage with the nuclear powers, France and the UK, must be the priority, so that they can contribute more to pan-European deterrence," she noted.